I just got all set up with SageTV this weekend. So far I love it. I haven’t done much tweaking and twitching with it though. I just picked a couple shows for it to record right off the bat then enabled the intelligent recording. If it records something I don’t like I tell it so and it doesn’t record it again. Just be sure you have a capture card that is supported. I had an ATI All In Wonder 9800 and it’s not supported. I had to go out and by a hardware encoding capture card. I still use the ATI card as the output card though. So uh, ya, I dig SageTV.
Sage is at the top of my list, seems to have lots of satisfied customers. What kind of card did you wind up getting?
My personal opinion is this. Anyone can make a DVR from a fairly robust E-machine.
My BIL bought a cheap e-machine from BB and 20 bucks later (the cost of the tuner card from Comp USA) had a DVR unit.
I think the total outlay was around $400.
If you can build a decent machine for around $500 you might have a shot.
Also, keep in mind that a Media Center Machine doesn’t need additional software, it’s part of the package. So, maybe you can build a MCE2005 machine for some people, but BB also has them for around $500.
I think if you would have tried this two years ago, when the cheapest MCE2005 machine with tuner card was over a grand, you’d have had a shot.
They have wireless MCE extenders available. You can also just hook the TV up to the vidoe card and watch your shows that way. MCE machines should also come with a remote for convenience.
I had a nice reply the other day and lost it during a power outage. I can’t even remember what I had said, at least not all of it.
Anyway, I’m very easy to please, all I want is something that will record in HD, I can get a cheap DVDR for $100. Since DVDs do not record HD it doesn’t do me much good if all I have is a digital signal from my antenna. I don’t care one bit about having a guide, I still get the listings in the paper, nad I don’t watch much as is, but I do want to watch the newer shows in HD since I can. Although many of the stations send out guides in their programing.
All I really want is an easy to use VCR, let me tell it when to start recording, stop recording, what days of the weel, and if I want it every week, every day, etc. Other then that I really don’t care, though a 30 second skip would be nice. I’ve never understood how it can be so hard, they have the ability to make DVDRs, why not just put in a harddrive instead and an HD tuner and be done with it. When someone can make one that comes in around $3-400 I’ll be all over it.
If you have multiple Tivo[sup]TM[/sup] 's on your home network you can watch a show on one Tivo[sup]TM[/sup] from any other Tivo[sup]TM[/sup]
AverMedia M150. I’ll add a remote when I get around to buying a bigger tv. Right now I’m always in the computer chair.
True – I realized after I posted that I misspoke. Instead of saying “the recording has to be watched on the unit that recorded it,” I should have said, “the recording has to be watched on a set that is also connected to a TiVo.” And while, yes, my videotapes also have to be watched on another VCR, VCRs are currently considerably cheaper than TiVo units. 
I’m sure you could build something functionally equivalent to Tivo, but it would take quite a bit of time and tweaking, and possibly money. If you’re not a computer geek I wouldnt suggest tackling it.
One thing you’re paying for with Tivo is the TV listings. For example, if you set your Tivo up with a season pass to record all episodes of My Name is Earl, it will record all episodes even if NBC shows one on a Saturday night, or decides to show it at 8:00 instead of the normal 9:00 time, etc. For people that don’t want to be tied to their TV but still don’t want to miss their favorite shows, it’s a great system. The only time it fouls up is when football or baseball games run long, which is understandable. Sometimes the networks cut in on the show “in progress”, other times they show it in entirety after the game.
Yeah the monthly expense sucks, but is $12 a month really so much? Tivo is very smooth, very bug-free, and lets you concentrate on watching shows instead of being tied to your TV and/or programming VCRs.